Q. I have one letter, three digit registration plates. My question is, when it is time to renew will I be able to keep this number or will I be issued the new six digit plates that I see so many of? Please let me know what these new numbers replace.

A. You can relax — no one is going to take your plate away from you! You do not have to turn in any plate that you already have. The six-digit plates are not to replace current plates or for reissue purposes. As explained in a previous column, the DMV had to find a different configuration to make more plates available that had never been issued before, and to make inventory and ordering less complicated.

Antique bike plates

Q. I would like to know if motorcycle antique plates are ever going to be available. Have many people showed interest in this matter?

A. Legislation would have to be introduced and passed in the General Assembly for a new plate type to be created. Right now, with the antiquated computer system that we have and the new system being built, a new plate type would not be possible. Any change to the old system requires hours of programming, even for the slightest change. Once the new system is built and implemented, the DMV hopes to be able to offer many types of plates that we were unable to offer in the past.

Trailer inspection

Q. I need to know if it is law in R.I. that we have to have our small utility trailer inspected and insured. My husband just bought one so that we can take our motorcycle with us when we go camping.

A. A small trailer does not have to be insured or safety inspected, but the vehicle pulling the trailer must be properly insured and inspected, and of course, the trailer must be registered properly.

Gina Antonucci Zanni, chief of communications for the State Division of Motor Vehicles, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state motor vehicle laws and procedures. To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask projoCars, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI, 02902. You can e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Ask projoCars” in the subject field. Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DMV directly and will not be answered in this column.

Confused about road rules? Or looking for a low-number license plate? You’ll find an archive of official answers to past driving questions posed by Journal readers at projocars.com